This summer a unique summer discipleship week long program will be offered at the monastery of St John of San Francisco in Manton, California. The program is called “Orthodox LIFE School” and it targets young men and women from 18-30 years. The school will be led by Fr. Innocent (Green), superior at the monastery, and assisted by Fr. Andreas Blom and Fr. Theodor Svane.

"Life in Christ is an exciting adventure," says Fr. Andreas. “As Christians, we never have a reason to be bored! It has been on our hearts to offer a program for young Orthodox Christians, which will challenge and equip them to follow Christ in today’s world. We have certainly seen a need for this, and young adults in our parishes have been asking for it.”

“Looking back I am very grateful that I was given an opportunity to go deeper into my faith in my early twenties” says Fr. Theodor. “During this time it became clear to me that to be a Christian was not to believe in a certain set of abstract philosophical assumptions about the world, but that faith is grounded in the person of Jesus Christ. Faith is a relationship, or even better, a union with Christ. Faith is real, it is life.”

"We are all grateful for those who challenged us to follow Christ and go deeper into our faith. For me, personally, it was through the bold words and life example of a few key visionaries who were "on fire for God" that really set the course of my life. It seems only fitting that we, in turn, pass this torch on to others,” concludes Fr. Innocent.

The program will be structured around the daily life at the monastery. “We wanted to host the school at a monastery because monasteries are so important in our tradition and they show us what life in Christ is all about with such clarity,” says Fr. Theodor. “All of us have a unique path to God and not all of us are called to become monastics but we all should learn something about our journey in Christ from those who have dedicated themselves to God in monasticism.”

The daily schedule will consist of worship, time for silence and personal prayer, lectures, practical work and social time. Lectures will focus on subjects central to Christian faith: Who is God?, How do I live as a Christian in this world?, Prayer, The meaning of work, vocation, and more. The dates are June 11-17, 2017 and it will cost $195. See the flyer and the application or contact Fr. Theodor for more information.